Gay Pride NYC 2008 (6/29/08)

BEST PRIDE EVER!

It was a really, really tall order to top 2006 but somehow, some way we managed to do it.

My Pride really didn't start until Sunday at 3am when me, Nora, Anne and Julie woke up to pre-game and head over to Alegria at Webster Hall. As expected the main room was packed like gay naked sardines - it was so hot that literally the walls and the stairs were sweating. The good news is that Ric Sena rented an additional, massive AC unit, parked it on the street and pumped it into the upstairs balcony. Downstairs was truly unbearable so we went upstairs, perched ourselves in the front row of the balcony with a stiff, cool breeze at our backs and got the party started. We danced and danced and danced... made friends, fan'd 'coochies' and other private parts, danced and danced some more. It wasn't until around 8am that the main floor had some breathing room - we finally jumped into the middle of madness. We spent the next few hours between our two spots and danced our little tooshies off - so much fun! I even ran into a few old friends from some of the first Alegria and Evolve parties I attended. We lasted in the sweat box until 10:30am when we saw the sun was shining outside and heard that some of our peeps were gathered on a roof deck in the east village.



After a short stint on the hot rooftop we decided that SHOWERS were a MUST. Anne went back to her place and Nora and I cruised back to mine to cleanup and rest (we lost Julie a few hours earlier). We did manage to shower but somehow decided that margaritas were a better choice than sleep. So... off to Cuba Cafe in Chelsea where met a fully-rested Zivy and a slightly rested, Julie. After some food, margaritas, mojitos and a downpour... we created a spontaneous dance party in the restaurant that spilled outside. I'm not quite sure how it happened but I wound up on the sidewalk outside the restaurant screaming at every passerby to "congo congo congo!" The only problem was that I was trying to get them to "limbo limbo limbo!" Whatever! I quickly revised my chant and proceeded to make a few hundred Pride revelers and innocent bystanders limbo under me and Julie's linked arms. It was definitely a big hit with everyone! Well, except this one guy who said, "stop touching me... don't talk to me... get out of this neighborhood." Umm, ok weirdo!




After we did the limbo and Nora found her gay baby daddy, we went to the Parade. But first... we bought a bottle of champagne, I convinced two hugging strangers to pose for a steamy photo shoot which ended with them both laying flat out on the street and I took pictures of myself in the reflection of some random dude's sunglasses. Oh yeah...the parade! As soon as we got to the Parade on 5th Avenue it started to rain...hard. So we did what 97% of people would not do... and we jumped INTO the parade and started marching south. We surveyed a few nearby floats and groups but decided nobody was hot enough or cool enough to deserve us. The disgustingly hot black guys on the W Hotel float were the first contenders but they were way too bitchy. Then we found a group of 20 of the hottest hot hots we'd ever seen and joined their group. It wasn't for a few blocks that we realized why everyone was cheering so loud for us (I mean, them)... they were PORN STARS. Perfect! We finished out the entire parade route drinking champagne, jumping on and biting the butts of the porn stars, putting stickers on #$@?s and otherwise acting silly. And at that point the day was only getting started.

Pinching Porn Star Butts


Champagne Celebration







As we walked up Greenwich Ave in our post-parade bliss (and SOPPING WET clothes), I saw a cute guy standing against an apartment building door so I did the next thing that popped into my brain... I took his hat off, kissed his bald head and wished him a Happy Pride. He LOVED IT and promptly invited us inside to his friend's party filled with models, photogs and a bunch of other fabulous people. And they welcomed us with open arms (as well as yummy Pimm's, white sangria, prosciutto and melon) despite our wet poodle appearance. After some indoor mingling we went back out to the sidewalk with my baldy friend to re-start the "limbo limbo limbo" game from earlier in the day. It was a big hit again...and this time no weirdos! I also vaguely remember jumping on a moving golf cart, flashing my a$$, jumping on someone's back and whipping people with a belt. Sometime around 7pm we realized we had to make the move to The Porch...we said goodbyes, collected some phone numbers and invited our new friends to join us later.

We started to walk east but encountered a major problem... we couldn't catch a cab. Now a lot of people would walk or take a train in that situation. But we are resourceful so instead we decided to hitchhike. Yes, hitchhike! It was reminiscent of my hitchhiking adventures on the mean streets of Moscow. Lucky for us this kind gentleman (who happened to be going to Alphabet City anyway) stopped and told us to jump in. The only downside to this plan was that he had a two-seater and Julie, Nora and I had to fit. Did I mention we sent drunk Zivy to class about an hour earlier? So back to the story... there were three of us for only one seat. But, not to be deterred we climbed in and made our way. This dude was beyond cool - super friendly, bumpin the R&B, not giving a sh*t when we passed cops, inviting us to a BBQ next weekend and telling us to pass the good karma forward when we thanked him profusely for his kindness. AWESOME. Homeboy dropped us off at the door of The Porch where we joined the party I was co-hosting. The day/night continued on and on and on. I remember dancing on the couches, being taunted like a bull by Sean (and picking his skinny ass up over my shoulder!) as well as some other assorted silliness. Some of the guys we had met at the previous party even showed up! We finally called it quits sometime after midnight when I just couldn't keep moving any longer. Just another 24 hrs in the life, I suppose!

Lots of love to Nora, Anne, Julie and Zivy who were wicked partners in crime! And some more love to John, Jen and Lisa who we missed dearly. Thanks for the hook-ups at both venues!

In separate but related news - two friends of mine (the sheep from The Bizarre Bazaar) got married on a float in San Francisco's Gay Pride Parade. For those who don't know, California recently legalized gay marriage. Click here to watch footage from Steve & Casey's wedding on the local San Fran news! Congratulations boys - so happy for you!

Francesca Viola Gargani (6/24/08)

Viola Si Nasce!!

Congratulations to my dear friends, Lizzy & Alessandro, who welcomed Francesca Viola Gargani into the world during the wee hours of June 24th only a short time after Italy lost to Spain in the Euro Cup (sorry Ale!). The little blonde haired, blue-eyed beauty weighed in at 8lbs. I love her already!!!

Turkey (Part II) - The Blue Voyage (6/8/08)

The Sunday after the wedding we had brunch at Onur's parents' summer home in Çeşme and then drove south along the coast to Fethiye. Askin and I actually drove separately in his car, while the rest of the crew took a minibus. It took us about 5 hours (and the minibus much longer) but the first sight of our chartered yachts made it all worthwhile. Let's just say the Duramaz and the Kayhan exceeded everyone's expectations...by far. The 6 cabin yachts were a whopping 100ft long with private bathroom, AC, TV, DVD, music system and refrigerator in each room. They had a back deck with a breakfast table and lounging area, an indoor table and kitchen with TV, a front deck with a dinner table, card table and plenty of space to hang out. And, the best part of all... the two-tiered top deck with enough cushions for everyone on board to sunbath. We also had an amazing crew of four guys who waited on our every need including pouring the shots when the time was right! Umm, yeah. Jay-Z and Beyonce ain't got nuthin on our big pimpin! Check out Alesta Yachting's website for more information. We left the dock right as the sun was setting which made for an amazing start to the trip. After that we ate the first of many delicious meals and played card games (choncho!) for a few hours before calling it a night.

I'm going to spare you the details of the six days that followed and simply summarize as follows:

--Morning: eat [breakfast = eggs, white cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, nutella]
--Afternoon: sunbath, swim, snorkel, kayak, nap, the occasional excursion, drink, card games/backgammon, dance, eat [lunch = fresh salad, yogurt, eggplant, pasta and/or meat; snack = cookies, nuts, nutella, tea, coffee]
--Evening: nap, shower, drink, card games, eat [dinner = fish/meat, fresh salad, yogurt, eggplant, MAGNUMS!, Turkish coffee]
--Night: drink, play games, dance, be silly, sleep

As for the major high and low lights:
--Getting a full beer can bounced off my head
--Onur falling in the water one night while trying to go from one boat to the other
--Karel going to bed immediately after dinner every night
--Erick Morillo dance party on the top of the yacht
--Onur passing out while cuddling Ms. Molly
--Another "spank" heard round the world
--Paragliding off a 2,000 meter peak
--O-nur, O-nur, O-nur, O-nur... Ooooo-nur, O-nur! Chris-sy, Chris-sy, Chris-sy, Chris-sy... Chris-sy, Chris-sy!
--Sangria in the sea
--Maks crying about his LENSES right before he was about to get tossed in the water
--Double Chocolate Magnums!
--Chrissy's silk worm dance move
--Choncho! Uno! Wwah Waaah!
--Megan's last night hook-up with one of the crew members

We begrudgingly got off the boat Saturday morning around 10am and spent some time chilling in Fethiye and eating one last monstrosity of a meal at the fish market. Then we hopped a flight back to Istanbul, showered, ate another meal and then all met back up at Selim's apartment to have a few cocktails and listen to some tunes. A few of us ventured out for a nightcap but the only thing of note that happened was Sinem stopping our cab home very suddenly in favor of a late night intestine sandwich snack (the Istanbul version of the NYC pizza slice). And I must say, it was quite tasty! Sunday morning came quick and so I sad my final goodbyes before making the long journey back to New York by way of Frankfurt. Until next time, my friends!

Photo credits: Shirley, Eileen

Turkey (Part I) - Istanbul & Çeşme (6/1/08)

After two party weekends, I was excited to start my *real* vacation in Turkey. I arrived on Sunday night around 11pm and was greeted at the airport by Askin, a good friend of mine who lives between NYC and Istanbul. Since it was already late and I was beat from Berlin, we just went to Askin's place in Şişli to relax. It was the third consecutive city where I was treated to an amazing view - this time from the 18th floor!

Monday: I got up at 9am, ate breakfast and then took the Metro to Taksim Square where I sipped some coffee and browsed my Istanbul guide book. Now's probably a good time to give you the quick skinny on Turkey. The republic was established in 1923 following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of WWI. It is a democratic and secular republic whose political system was crafted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the country's most revered leader. There are 70 million total people, 10 million of which are in Istanbul. It borders eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. Due to its strategic location straddling two continents (Europe and Asia), Turkey's culture is an interesting mix of East and West. Now that that's out of the way... let's get back to my vacation.

I spent my first morning exploring Taksim... wandering down İstiklal Avenue which reminded me of Las Ramblas in Barcelona. There were all sorts of cute boutiques, cafes and galleries so I took my time walking the side streets and stopping to do a bit of shopping. When I finally reached the end of the Avenue, I decided to hop aboard the trolley and take it back to where I had started. That afternoon I went back to Şişli to each lunch and meet Askin. We hopped in the car (it's definitely more of a car city!) and drove to Beyoğlu to walk around and catch a boat tour of the Bosporus, the strait connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. We spent an hour or two on the water looking at old castles and palaces, a few bridges, waterfront night clubs and small island owned by one of the local soccer clubs. After the boat tour we ate a local favorite, kumpir (a baked potato piled high with toppings like corn, olives and hot sauce), and then drove to Nişantaşı, Istanbul's Soho-like shopping district. We ate dinner at Midpoint Cafe and then took my stuff to Karel & Max's apartment (which is where I'd stay for the next few days).

Tuesday: I woke up, made an espresso and hit up the public transportation. After a few connections via metro, funicular, and tram I landed in the district called Eminönü. Tuesday was a full on sight-seeing day with stops at mosques (Yeni, Rüstem Pasa, Suleymaniye, Beyazit, Sultan Ahmet), the bazaars (Spice and Grand), a church (Aya Sofya), Gülhane Park and Hamdi for lunch. I ended the day by walking across the Galata bridge looking west toward Europe and east across the Bosporus to Asia on the way back to Karel and Max's apartment. That night Shirley arrived from Tel Aviv and we spent the night catching up.






Wednesday: Up, espresso and out...back to the old city, this time with Shirley. We grabbed a quick döner kebab (meat cooked on a vertical spit and sliced to order) and then walked over to Topkapı Palace, the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans from 1465 to 1853. There wasn't too much to see besides some jewels and weapons but we wandered the grounds and enjoyed the lovely weather.



After the Palace we went back toward the Grand Bazaar and found Cemberlitas Hamami, a Turkish bath built in 1584. For 80 Turkish Liras ($65) we got access to the large stone platform bath/sauna, a naked scrub and a 30 minute massage. Shirley and I were slightly unsure of protocol but were prodded along by the staff. After laying on the platform for a little while... a large, saggy-breasted woman motioned for me to come over for my scrub. She tugged at my bikini bottoms and so I yanked them off and she got down to business. She scrubbed the shit out of me, peeling off multiple layers of skin. I was slightly embarrassed by the sheer volume of nasty, gray skin sludge until later on that day when Shirley said she had the same. The saggy scrubber didn't speak English so I had to just follow along with her grunts and gestures - lay down, flip over, sit up, stand up, move over here, lay back down, etc. At one point when I was trying to rollover I slipped on the soapy platform and almost fell on the floor. It was hysterical. However, when all was said and done...Shirley and I were relaxed and glowing. After the bath, we did some more walking and eating (another döner) before heading back to Şişli. [Author's note: the Turkish döner doesn't come close to the Israeli shwarma!]

That night the rest of the crew got into town - Taj & Raggy (London), Jane & Eugene (NY), Eileen (Madrid) as well as a few others. We gathered at Karel and Max's and actually ate Domino's Pizza - ha! It was a relatively low key night until sometime around midnight when Shirley, Taj, Raggy and I decided to walk Eileen home (to her grandmother's apartment where she was staying). The trip turned into an urban, Turkish version of our Ibiza nature walk as we peered into windows, posed with cars and signs, stopped to eat a Turkish "wet" burger, harassed a man unloading a truck full of flour sacks, stuffed Raggy into a kebab cart and on the way home stopped at a bar/brothel called Miami Club.

It was a shading looking joint but I stormed across the street (locally purchased rainbow coochie duster in hand, mind you) and encouraged the crew to follow behind. When I asked the guy at the door if it was a "regular bar" he said yes so we continued inside. After a walk down a hallway and some stairs we found ourselves in a patron-less establishment with about 10 women standing in various places behind the bar and a gray-haired male DJ playing pounding electronic music from a laptop. We looked at each other, laughed and sat down to try and order a drink. As soon as we sat down we had the attention of everyone in the room - bringing us plates of fruit and nuts, asking us broken questions and starring. All I could think was, "oh shit... I hope this is not going to cost me a $1000 or a kidney". It was definitely an odd situation but as I've said before... there are two kinds of people in this world and I'm not the kind to just turn around and walk out. We're here, we might as well MAKE PARTY! So we ordered vodka tonics which turned out to be exclusively vodka (ouch!), made jokes among ourselves, fended off some female admirers and pumped our fists to the pounding music for about an hour. Slowly but surely some other patrons (all male, of course) entered the room and paired off 1 on 1 with the ladies behind the bar. I think we all were anxious to figure out how this little adventure was going to end so we asked for the check which was 100 Turkish Liras. They charged us a steep price for the nuts and fruit (which we didn't order) and the drinks (which we did) and although I knew we were getting ripped off, I didn't want to push our luck. I paid the bill and as we walked out we decided to ask for a picture with the guys standing outside. Surprisingly they were very willing and one of them (the owner!) even gave me his card. Ahh, the joys of travel!


Thursday: In a nutshell: pedicure, flight to Izmir, bus to Çeşme, food/sun on the pier at our hotel. And, we finally got to meet up with Onur & Chrissie (the bride and groom and the reason for the trip to Turkey)! That night Onur's mother treated the entire group to an amazing dinner in a nearby town. I thought I was going to die after eating the cold mezze (appetizers), let alone the hot mezze and then the half fish I had ordered. I avoided the black liquorice-flavored Raki (the unofficial national drink of Turkey) like the plague but watched others indulge at the strong urging of Onur's mom. After the meal we watched a slide show of Onur and Chrissie's Ohio wedding and then called it a night (who could move after all that food!)

Friday: The majority of us hopped on a bus for two hours to visit the ruins of Ephesus, an ancient city of Anatolia (circa 550BC), and the House of the Virgin Mary (where she apparently lived her last days). On the ride back we stopped at a restaurant for yet another feast, this time kebab and chop sis (tiny meat chunks on skewers) and then returned to Çeşme for a few hours of sun before the bachelorette/bachelor festivities. That night we split into two groups for dinner and then met up late night for drinks at relatively posh little outdoor bar where the staff was serving flaming shots and bottles. When the boys joined us they were all wearing matching t-shirts and chanting songs in Onur's honor. We co-mingled at the bar for a few hours and then took the party back to the hotel pier for some late night antics which included Eugene singing, dancing and otherwise entertaining the crowd of friends and strangers.








Saturday: The wedding wasn't until late evening so we had all day to chill out on the pier, in the water and on the trampolines. And then finally... it was time for the main event. The wedding was the first and only to be held at Çeşme castle which overlooks the Agean Sea. The official ceremony was extremely quick (just the way we like it!). The sun was setting during the beginning of the reception and then once it got dark, the wedding party made a grand entrance down the castle stairs with MASSIVE sparklers lighting the way. Later in the evening we were treated to a number of traditional Turkish dance routines, some of which we joined. As if the setting wasn't already majestic enough! Onur and Chrissy both looked stunning and their families couldn't have been happier. It was such a memorable event - I'm so glad I got to be a part of it. After the reception we all went to a beach club for a late night DJ set by Selim Cenkel a friend of Karel and Maks' from Istanbul.